Effects on the fisheries industry of the Commission proposals (SANCO) on dioxin content of fish, fish oil and fish meal as part of animal feed regulations

Recently some fish and fish products of European origin have been identified as major contributors to the dioxin contamination of feed materials finally occurring in the human food chain and according to the Scientific Committee on Animal Nutrition emphasis should be put on reducing the impact of the most contaminated feed materials such as fish oil or fish meal from Europe on overall diet contamination. Therefore the European Commission wants to set maximum limits for feed, including fish and fish products by amending Directive 1999/29/EC and to establish action and target limits in Commission Recommendation to be adopted concurrently. This may affect the fisheries industry.